A Nigerian delegation was in Lon- don this week to continue discussions on the implementation of the Emerging Capital Markets Taskforce’s work programme.
Recent lull in capital flows from foreign investors has impacted the performance of Nigerian equities as well as the fixed income market space.
The delegation led by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhede, president, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and co- chairman of the UK-Nige- ria capital market’s project, met with the UK co-chair, Roger Gifford, former Lord Mayor of London, offi- cials of the UK foreign and Common Wealth Office, officials of the CitiUK and other key players in the UK financial services sector.
The meeting took place at the Foreign and Common- wealth Office in London.
The taskforce’s main objective is to improve market access to finan- cial instruments and re- sources in the Nigerian capital market as well as to strengthen investor pro- tection through effective regulation and oversight.
The UK-Nigeria capital markets project is a pro- gramme of cooperation and engagement between the UK and Nigeria, aimed at increasing capital flows between UK and Nigeria and deepening the Nige- rian capital market.
The work of the task- force in Nigeria will in- clude knowledge sharing, capacity building, dual listings on NSE and LSE, product innovation and the design of bilateral in- vestor protection treaties.
In November 2014, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and the NSE signed a capital markets agreement in support of African companies seek- ing dual listings in London and Lagos.
This agreement is for an initial period of two years.
This collaboration will have the dual benefit of increasing diversity of the market participants on the NSE and facilitating enhanced liquidity.
The ECMT benefits to Nigeria will include: greater access to international financial markets, greater inward in- vestment, greater potential for currency internationalisation and in the long run, a more stable and efficient financial system.
Speaking on the visit, Aig-Imoukhuede said “this initiative if well imple- mented will see Nigerian’s economy benefitting from a more developed and successful capital markets sector and lead to significant flows of invest- ment capital to the mutual benefit of Nigeria and the United Kingdom.”
